


ever since new york

by lovewhatyoudo



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Jimmy loves Harry Potter, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, but that's a given, they're also really bad at adulting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 08:38:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11353830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovewhatyoudo/pseuds/lovewhatyoudo
Summary: “Let me see your wrist.” Jimmy says, and doesn’t even wait for Brady to reply before grabbing his right wrist. Jimmy is relieved when he sees the same birthmark that he has on Brady’s wrist. It resembles a star, just like Jimmy’s does. “What did you think this was, then?” Jimmy asks, while showing Brady his identical soulmark.“A freckle?” Brady shrugs, and Jimmy chuckles in response, already infatuated with his other half.“That’s an odd shape for a freckle, isn’t it?” Jimmy laughs, and Brady does a little bit too.





	ever since new york

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU FOUND THIS THROUGH GOOGLING YOURSELF please don't read this. You'll feel uncomfortable, I'll feel embarrassed, and it won't be good for any of us.  
> This is a work of fiction, I just seriously thought that there was a lack of Brady/Jimmy on here and I'm a sucker for soulmate AUs, so here we are.  
> The title is from "Ever Since New York" by Harry Styles.  
> Hope you enjoy it!

When Jimmy gets drafted to Nashville, it felt so _wrong_. He can’t explain why, but he gets this awful feeling in his gut every time he thinks about playing for them, or when someone brings it up to him. He doesn’t know why he feels this way. Jimmy has dreamt about playing in the NHL for as long as he can remember, he should be happy. He decides to ignore this feeling and to go play for Harvard. Maybe he will feel better about it in a couple of years.

\--

“You’re special, Jimmy.” His mother tells him from time to time as he grows up. She takes his hand and rubs her thumb over his birthmark in awe. It’s the shape of a star. “There’s someone out there, made just for you.”

“And what if I can’t find them?” Jimmy asks. That’s his biggest fear.

“You will, honey. They’re your soulmate.” She responds, as if that is enough of an explanation.

\--

Harvard is fun. Jimmy makes a lot of friends on his team, and he is learning a lot in his classes. He’s really lucky that Harvard offered him a spot on the team. Jimmy isn’t sure if his hockey will get him as far as he would like, but he’s glad that he can learn about government and politics from the best university in the country.

Jimmy hasn’t met his soulmate yet, but that’s okay. He doesn’t feel ready yet. He wants to figure his own life out before he has to bond with another person. He’s sure that it’s overwhelming to feel the emotions of someone else. Once he meets them, he will never be alone again. Jimmy wouldn’t even be able to be apart from his soulmate for long without feeling ill. It’s a lot to handle.

Even though he’s not ready to meet his soulmate, Jimmy feels guilty forming relationships with other people. There’s somebody out there waiting to meet him and spend his life with him. Jimmy wants to do the same. But he’s in college, so he has one night stands with both guys and girls and then feels guilty about it the next morning. When he meets his soulmate, he will tell them how guilty he felt and they will laugh about it, because Jimmy is young and deserves to have some fun before he meets the one for him.

\--

Jimmy finishes his junior year at Harvard and he can’t believe how fast college is flying by. His agent calls an hour after they lose to Omaha in the first round of the NCAA tournament to inform him that the Predators already want to sign him. It’s a lot to take in at once. His stomach churns at the thought of it and he knows almost right away that he’s not ready yet. He still has a year of college left.

A lot of people don’t understand Jimmy’s decision. They tell him that playing in the NHL has been his goal since he was little and that he should take advantage of this opportunity that has been given to him. But then Jimmy remembers how he felt when he scored the game winning goal against Yale in game one of the ECAC quarterfinals. He felt so incredibly proud of himself, and his teammates did too. And then he remembers the rush of adrenaline that he felt when he scored in double overtime against Yale in game 3 to send the team to the semifinals. He’s not done here yet.

\--

Not everyone in Jimmy’s family was born with a soulmark. Soulmarks have a genetic component but it usually only works out for only some members of the family. In general, it’s not that common to have a soulmark and many families don’t have anyone born with one. Jimmy is the only one in his immediate family with one, but his grandparents on his mother’s side and some of his cousins have one.

His older cousin meets her soulmate during the summer before Jimmy’s senior year at Harvard. She seems much happier than usual during their annual family BBQ that they have every summer. Jimmy can see it in her eyes and her smile.

“It’s just like the movies, Jimmy. When I met him, it felt like the world stopped spinning and he we were the only two people that mattered. He’s the most beautiful person I have ever met. I can’t wait for you to feel it too.” Jimmy’s cousin, Alexa, tells him. He can’t wait too. He’s almost ready.

\--

Harvard ends up losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament, _again_. It stings in Jimmy’s chest because that means that this is the end. He barely makes it out of the arena before his agent calls him and tells him for the second year in a row that Nashville is ready to sign him. They want Jimmy to sign with them as soon as possible so he could play with him in the playoffs.

Jimmy’s head spins when he hears the news. An NHL team is literally offering him a roster spot and he’s supposed to take it. He’s supposed to feel ready for this because this is what he has been training for his whole life, but instead he wants to say no. It’s been four years since he has been drafted and the thought of playing hockey in Nashville still feels wrong. He can feel it in his gut that Nashville is not where he is supposed to be. Jimmy feels so frustrated because he thought that this is what he wanted to do, but it’s as if the world is crashing down around him.

Jimmy ends up not signing with Nashville. The media, his teammates, and even his family don’t understand why he didn’t go play for them. Jimmy realizes that no one will ever understand. So, Jimmy graduates from Harvard about a month later with a degree in government. Everything feels right for a little while.

\--

Jimmy’s rights end up getting traded to Buffalo. He can’t say that he didn’t see a trade coming. Nashville figured out that Jimmy is never going to sign with them and had to take advantage. Buffalo doesn’t give Jimmy the same weird feeling as Nashville did, but it doesn’t feel as good as he wants it to.

Jimmy gets texts and calls from Jack Eichel telling Jimmy to come play with him. Jimmy does want to play with Jack. Jack is an amazing hockey player and the only player that Jimmy isn’t mad that he lost his first Hobey Baker nomination to. He has also known him since he was a little kid. But what if Jimmy waits till August 15th to see what other teams want him? He would be able to hear about all of his options. Ultimately, that’s what he decides to do.

The week of August 15th is a crazy week. He has met with many teams and they all want him. Superstar players such as Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane have talked to him to try to convince him to sign with their teams. Jimmy feels like he’s dreaming. He never thought that he would be good enough to be in this situation. He was drafted a year late, Harvard mainly accepted him for his grades, not his hockey. But here he is.

The Rangers are the last team that Jimmy meets with. There’s something different about the vibe that he gets from Gorton and the rest of them. Jimmy feels comfortable in the meeting and able to be himself. He can picture himself wearing that blue sweater and playing in the Garden. He has played in the Garden with Harvard before and always felt comfortable on the ice, maybe that wasn’t a coincidence.

That night, his childhood friend, Kevin Hayes, calls him. Jimmy considers Kevin family, they basically grew up together.

 _“So, I heard you met with the Rangers today.”_ Kevin starts the conversation out with. _“How did you feel about it?”_

“I think I liked them. Do you like playing for them?” Jimmy asks. He trusts Kevin to give him an honest answer. He knows that Kevin isn’t going to try to bribe him and will tell him like it is.

_“I really think that you will fit in here. There are a lot of young guys on the team, and the vets are really great as well. Everyone gets along and plays brilliant hockey together.”_

Jimmy likes that answer. That’s all that Jimmy wants: to play brilliant hockey.

 _“Millzie is also 23, the new guy Mika is 23, I’m only 24. If Brady stays up he’s 22. That Pavel kid from Russia is young. This team is going to be great for a while.”_ Kevin explains. Jimmy really likes the optimism that Kevin has about the team. If he thinks this highly about the team’s future, the rest of the locker room must feel the same way. 

“Okay, I’m in.” Jimmy tells him.

\--

Management sets him up to live with Brady Skjei for the year. They’re both new to the team and management thinks that living together as rookies will help with the adjustment. Oscar Lindberg lives close by too. Kevin told Jimmy that Brady is a great guy and that they will get along really well. Jimmy hopes that he’s right. They’re both American and played college hockey, so Jimmy is hoping that they have a lot in common.  

So, that’s how Jimmy ends up moving to Manhattan a few weeks later. His parents had another commitment and couldn’t help him with the move right away, but they are bringing some of his other stuff a few days later. Moving in and getting organized without his mother is going to be a challenge, but Jimmy will make do.

His new roommate isn’t there yet when Jimmy walks into the apartment. He should be here soon. Jimmy decides to be the better person and give Brady the master bedroom. Jimmy has lived in a college dorm for the past four years, he doesn’t need a lot of space. As long as he gets a king sized bed, he’s good. About an hour after Jimmy started unpacking, he hears someone else walk into the apartment. He walks over to the living room to finally meet his new roommate.  

Jimmy sees Brady standing there in front of the door and gasps. He can feel his soulmark tingling on his wrist, and a warmth in his chest. Jimmy has never seen anyone as beautiful as the person standing in front of him. He feels the need to get closer, to hug him and never let go. Brady is smiling, even though he looks a little stunned, but his smile lights up the whole room and Jimmy is drowning in the light. Jimmy can feel his heart exploding out of his chest because it’s literally beating for this boy standing in front of him. _Holy shit, that’s my soulmate,_ Jimmy thinks to himself _._ His cousin was right, it literally is as if the world stopped spinning, and that they are the only two people on Earth. But it’s better than the movies, because this is _Jimmy’s_ soulmate. 

“What the fuck was that?” Jimmy hears, and then blinks to snap out of his trance. Jimmy’s mind is screaming at him. _It’s him! That’s my other half! I found him!_  

“I think we’re soulmates.” Jimmy replies. What else can it be? He’s never felt this way about anyone else.  

“I can’t have a soulmate!” Brady exclaims, and Jimmy feels his heart drop out of his chest. “I don’t have a soulmark, no one in my family does. You’re wrong.” 

Jimmy knows that can’t be true. Everyone in his family with soulmarks has always told him that you just _know_ when you meet your soulmate. Jimmy knows it’s him. His soulmark was even tingling! That’s only supposed to happen when you’re near your soulmate.  

“Let me see your wrist.” Jimmy says, and doesn’t even wait for Brady to reply before grabbing his right wrist. Jimmy is relieved when he sees the same birthmark that he has on Brady’s wrist. It resembles a star, just like Jimmy’s does. “What did you think this was, then?” Jimmy asks, while showing Brady his identical soulmark.  

“A freckle?” Brady shrugs, and Jimmy chuckles in response, already infatuated with his other half.  

“That’s an odd shape for a freckle, isn’t it?” Jimmy laughs, and Brady does a little bit too.  

“Aren’t soulmarks genetic? No one in my family has one.” Brady asks. He looks so confused and scared. Jimmy doesn’t want Brady to feel like that around him.  

“I thought they were, but who knows.” Jimmy shrugs. All that matters to Jimmy now is that they are together, and he wonders when he became such a romantic.

“I never paid attention to the soul bond stuff in classes because I never thought that it applied to me, but that was _something_.” Brady says, referring to how he felt when they saw each other for the first time. Jimmy smiles, and it’s probably the most that he has smiled in a long time.  

\-- 

Brady isn’t ready to fully be together as soulmates, and Jimmy understands. Brady grew up not thinking that he had a soulmate, not thinking that he was destined to be with one person, and it’s a lot to learn about yourself so quickly. Jimmy just wants Brady to know that he is there for him, even if it is just as a friend at first.  

Training camp starts, and then all of the sudden it is preseason and Jimmy is wearing a Rangers jersey with his own name on it and he can barely believe it. He plays his first preseason game at the Garden and he slams his face right into the crossbar, and it’s more funny than not. It definitely gave the locker room something to laugh at. Jimmy just can’t wait to feel that rush of adrenaline again.  

He plays his next preseason game at Wells Fargo against the flyers. Things are going well, until Gudas slams him into the boards when Jimmy is trying to get the puck. Everything is blurry for a second as he is down on the ice. He looks up to see some of his teammates going after Gudas and the refs pulling them apart. Jimmy’s in pain, but it’s bearable. Thankfully, Gudas gets a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. There’s only 30 seconds left of the period, so Jimmy goes straight to the locker room to go through concussion protocol. He ends up being fine.  

He also ends up scoring his first professional goal, which is a surreal feeling. Jimmy has not been this excited in his entire life, even though it’s only preseason. When coming off the ice at the end of the overtime loss, he doesn’t feel that defeated. Any loss sucks a lot, but it’s preseason and the team has so much time to learn from this. As he is taking his gear off, Jimmy wonders if Brady could feel his excitement through their bond. Probably not yet, since their bond isn’t that strong because they just met. But Jimmy is so happy right now, and he can’t think of anyone else that he would rather share this feeling with. Brady is home in New York since he wasn’t playing in this game. Since it is the preseason, not everyone plays in every game. It sucks that Brady isn’t here to celebrate the goal with him.  

Jimmy checks his phone when he gets back to the hotel to see that he has a handful of missed calls and texts from Brady. Jimmy is rooming with Hayesie, so he steps outside to call Brady back before heading up to their hotel room. Brady answers after the first ring.

“Are you okay?” Brady asks before Jimmy can even say hello. Jimmy can hear the worry in his voice. It’s not that Jimmy wants Brady to be worried, but he can’t help but like how Brady cares about him this much already.  

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just shaken up for a minute.” Jimmy responds honestly.  

“I _felt_ it.” Brady tells him. Jimmy isn’t that surprised that Brady felt the hit, Jimmy’s more surprised that he didn’t think that Brady would. Feeling each other’s pain and illnesses is one of the first signs of a soulbond. It’s literally one of the first things that they teach in health class.

“Are you okay?” It’s now Jimmy’s turn to ask. He knows that Brady is a little freaked out about this soulbond thing since he didn’t see it coming. Jimmy wants more than anything to go home and comfort him.

“Yeah, I was just fucking terrified.” Brady chuckles softly over the phone.  

“Well, I don’t think that’s going to be the last time that happens.” Jimmy grins, even though he knows that Brady can’t see. “We’re both athletes, we’re going to get hurt.” He can hear Brady sigh through the phone.  

“I know. The apartment is kind of lonely without you.” Brady admits, and Jimmy feels a warmth in his chest. He wishes he can get in a car and drive home right now.  

“I’ll be home in the morning.” Jimmy tells him.  

Jimmy ends up telling him about the goal that he scored and Brady is genuinely happy for him. Talking to Brady is really easy. Jimmy is usually shy around people that he recently met, but he felt like he could be himself around Brady right away. Maybe that’s the point of all of this. Jimmy hangs up the phone with a smile on his face because that was probably the first moment that they truly acted like soulmates. This is what everyone told him he was going to experience when he was a kid. It feels great.  

“Mine also gets worried when I’m hurt.” Someone says. Jimmy jumps, not expecting anyone to be there. He thought he was alone. He turns around to see Step. 

“Uh, yeah. They felt that hit and wanted to make sure I’m okay.” Jimmy tells him. He wasn’t quite ready for anyone to know that he’s met his soulmate, he hasn’t even told his family yet and it’s been a few weeks. But it also feels nice to talk about it with someone.  

“They live close by, I hope?” Derek asks, knowing that Jimmy could feel seriously ill if he’s away from his soulmate for too long during the season. Jimmy isn’t going to tell him that it’s Brady. They never talked about telling anyone and that wouldn’t be fair to him.  

“Yeah, in the city.” Jimmy replies, while fidgeting with his hands because he’s a little nervous about the topic of this conversation. “I met them when I moved here.” He’s not lying, but that doesn’t necessarily tell Derek that it’s Brady.

“Then I guess you being a Ranger was meant to be.” Derek says, and Jimmy knows that he is right. “Good luck with everything, I’m always here if you want to talk about it.” Derek pats him on the back and walks back towards the hotel.  

Jimmy goes to sleep with a big smile on his face.  

\-- 

“I got _so_ bored, so I went to Whole Foods.” Brady tells him when Jimmy asks how he entertained himself while he was gone. Jimmy, Kevin, and JT were all playing and Brady doesn’t know that many people on the team yet to hang out with besides them.  

“Wow, so you’re an adult now?” Jimmy smirks. Then Jimmy realizes that the guy doesn’t even own a hamper, of course he’s not an adult.  

“Never!” Brady exclaims, and Jimmy laughs fondly.

Jimmy looks around the kitchen to see what Brady stocked them up with. He goes through the fridge and freezer and sees that Brady bought milk and cookies Ben and Jerry’s. Jimmy hasn’t seen many people like that flavor before.  

“This is my favorite flavor!” Jimmy grins. He could literally eat the whole thing right now, but his nutritionist would probably yell at him. He has to be an athlete and adult and stuff.  

“Is it? I’ve never had it but I saw it and felt like I had to get it.” Brady replies.  

Jimmy could be thinking too far into this, but his grandma always told him stories about how his grandpa knew things about her that she had never told him. When he got her flowers for the first time, he bought her yellow roses before knowing that they were her favorite. It’s the little things such as a favorite flower, or favorite food, that soulmates know about each other without having to ask.  

“Yeah! You have to try it.” Jimmy says and grabs two spoons out of the drawer.  

\-- 

Kevin finds out about them being soulmates after the home opener. The team is out at a bar downtown and everyone is really drunk. Jimmy, Brady, and Kevin are sitting in a booth together while the rest of the guys are scattered throughout the bar.  

“I’ll buy the next round. What do you want, Haysie?” Jimmy asks.

“It’s getting late, maybe I’ll go for a Sam Adams.” Kevin responds, of course picking it because it’s from Boston. Jimmy is about to get up to walk over to the bartender when Brady stops him. 

“Am I not worthy of a drink?” Brady laughs. Jimmy didn’t even realize that he didn’t ask him what he wanted.

“Well, you obviously want a Blue Moon.” Jimmy says simply, and Brady nods with a grin on his face. Brady has only taken shots tonight, but since the mood is shifting towards beer Jimmy knows that’s usually his pick. 

“Is it that obvious?” Kevin asks, and Jimmy freezes. Brady has a stunned expression on his face, and Jimmy’s probably looks the same.  

Kevin finding out honestly could have been avoided. But Jimmy and Brady are both drunk, and finding an easy solution was out of their reach. Jimmy simply could have said that Brady told him that’s him that’s his favorite beer, but he was too freaked out to think of it.  

“No way!” Kevin exclaims, before Jimmy or Brady can stop him. Because Jimmy and Kevin have known each other since they were kids, Kevin knew that Jimmy has a soulmark. It wasn’t hard for him to put two and two together.  

“Yeah.” Jimmy grins, and can feel all of his blood rush to his face. Brady is smiling at him, and brushes his leg against Jimmy’s to let him know that this is okay. Jimmy can’t help but think that it has a deeper meaning, that being soulmates is okay.  

“I’m really happy for you guys.” Kevin tells them. Jimmy is happy for himself and Brady too.  

\-- 

A few weeks go by, and Jimmy realizes that he really likes Brady. Okay, he knew that he liked him from the beginning with all of the sparks and everything, but now he _really_ likes Brady. Jimmy has always been somewhat of a hopeless romantic. He always dreamed about how he wanted to be the perfect soulmate. He has always wanted to take them out on nice dates, and give them nice gifts to let them know that he appreciates them. Maybe buy them flowers on a random day after work, or cook them their favorite meal after a hard day.  

Jimmy and Brady haven’t really talked about what’s going to happen next. Brady said that he wanted to be friends at first once they discovered that they were soulmates, but that was the last thing that they said about it. Thanksgiving has passed, and it took so much effort for Jimmy to not tell his family. He respects what Brady wants, and honestly agreed that they shouldn’t take it too fast, but Jimmy feels himself falling now.  

Jimmy isn’t really sure what made him begin to fall in love with Brady. He doesn’t consider himself in love with him yet, but knows that he is on track to be. He likes how Brady always wakes up with bed head, but can’t brush his hair until he has his cup of coffee in the morning. And how he can’t watch a movie without a snack or else he taps his foot out of boredom. And even how Brady puts ketchup on _everything,_ even when it’s something that probably shouldn’t go with ketchup, like grilled cheese. But it’s cute, and Jimmy is stuck with his little quirks forever. He doesn’t mind at all.

He wants to tell Brady how he feels, but is scared that Brady isn’t ready yet. Jimmy would totally understand if he isn’t ready, especially because he had no idea that he was supposed to have a soulmate. He wants Brady to feel comfortable about the progression of the bond. He doesn’t want to scare him away. Jimmy wants to be good enough for him. Since Brady didn’t know that this was going to happen, what if he was disappointed? Brady thought he had his whole life to explore his options, but then suddenly found out that he’s stuck with Jimmy. Jimmy hopes that he wasn’t disappointed.  

Jimmy decides to text Step and ask him to get lunch with him after practice tomorrow. After all, Derek did tell Jimmy that he can go to him if he needs anything. And no one else that has gone through this even knows that Jimmy has met his soulmate, so hopefully Step is helpful.  

\--

“Soulmate troubles, huh?” Derek asks after they had a five minute discussion on how their line has been doing and how practice went.

“I mean, I don’t know if it’s a problem.” Jimmy shrugs. It’s probably just him over-thinking. “Right now we’re just friends I guess, they wanted to take things slow.” 

“But you’re ready to be more than friends now, I’m guessing.” Step suggests. He’s not wrong. 

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I’m not really sure what to do.” Jimmy tells him. He feels kind of vulnerable talking about his feelings like this to one of the leaders of the team, but he also knows that there’s a reason why Step is a leader.  

“You can tell them that. Chances are they feel the same way, it’s how you’re supposed to feel.” Derek responds.  

“It just feels more complicated. They didn’t know that they had a soulmark until we met, so I don’t want to rush them.” Jimmy can’t help but notice how unnatural saying the word ‘them’ over and over again feels. A pronoun won’t give it away, will it? 

“Oh, well that’s interesting.” Derek chuckles. “I would ask them how they have been feeling about the soulbond first. Then if they are feeling okay, I’d say how you feel. Holding it in isn’t going to help either of you.”  

“Thanks. I just don’t want to pressure him, you know?” Jimmy says, finally saying ‘he.’ Derek smiles, so Jimmy guesses that he doesn’t care.  

“I think he will really appreciate that you care enough to see how he’s doing.” Derek replies, and Jimmy really hopes that he’s right.

 

Jimmy gets home about an hour later and sees Brady unpacking a bunch of bags from Whole Foods. Jimmy’s glad that he went, their cabinets and fridge were getting really empty. If no one went shopping, they would have to end up eating JT’s left over pizza that’s been there for only God knows how long.

“You’ll never believe this! Whole Foods had a sale and I got three soups for the price of one.” Brady says, like he’s proud of his accomplishment.

“You’re acting like an adult again and it’s scaring me.” Jimmy replies, trying to act serious even though he can feel himself grinning.

“I apologize, but obviously I got more ice cream too. I’m not _that_ responsible.” Brady defends himself. Jimmy looks in the freezer to see three containers of Ben and Jerry’s and feels more satisfied. But he also notices frozen vegetables too.

“But you also got vegetables. I can’t believe you.” Jimmy says, while putting his hand over his heart to act like he’s hurt.

“Yea, we probably won’t eat those.” Brady laughs.  

\-- 

It’s been about a week since Jimmy got lunch with Step and he still hasn’t talked to Brady about it. Christmas break is in two weeks, and Jimmy is going home for the holiday. He would like to tell his family about Brady, but wants to make sure that it’s okay with him first.

Jimmy wakes up on a Monday morning feeling crappy. His body aches, his throat hurts, and his nose is a little stuffy. He finds his thermometer that his mom gave him when he moved into college to check his temperature, but it’s normal. By the way, Jimmy has absolutely no idea how he managed not to lose that thermometer after all of these years. It’s not like he’s the most responsible guy in the world.  

Then, Jimmy hears Brady sneeze from his room. It hits him that Brady is sick, and Jimmy is just feeling it through the bond. He gets up right away and speed walks to Brady’s room because he’s worried.  

“Good morning.” Brady croaks. He sounds stuffy and his voice is hoarse.  

“You must feel awful, I can feel it.” Jimmy tells him. He puts his hand on Brady’s forehead and he’s burning up.  

“I’m sorry, are you okay?” Brady asks. Brady’s the one that isn’t feeling well, Jimmy doesn’t want him to be worried about him right now.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t dying.” Jimmy chuckles. “I’ll go get you medicine.”

Jimmy is surprised that they even have cold medicine. None of them have been sick yet since they moved in. One of their moms must have bought it because they knew that Jimmy and Brady were not smart enough to think of it. He heads back to Brady’s room to give him an Advil cold and sinus and a glass of water.

“We actually had medicine?” Brady attempts to laugh, but coughs instead. He’s lucky that they have the day off.

“I’m just as shocked as you are.” Jimmy grins.

Jimmy lets Brady go back to sleep for a few hours. He calls his parents to say hello, and facetimes one of his friends from college that he hasn’t spoken to in a while. Days off are nice. Being in the NHL definitely has its perks, but he misses being able to regularly talk to his family and friends. Christmas break can’t come fast enough.

Around noon, Jimmy decides that he’s going to be a nice, domestic soulmate and make Brady some soup. They have yet to touch the soups that Brady got on sale at Whole Foods, and Jimmy hates to admit that Brady going grocery shopping was a good idea. Sometimes, it’s necessary to be an adult. Jimmy doesn’t use the stove often, so he’s hoping that he doesn’t burn the soup. Can you even burn soup? He ends up cooking it and only burning himself once, so he will take it as a win. Jimmy caries the soup to Brady’s bedroom. He still looks really ill, but looks better than this morning.

“You cooked something? I’m impressed.” Brady grins, and Jimmy doesn’t understand how he could look that cute even when he’s sick.

“Anything for you!” Jimmy laughs and makes it look like he’s joking, even though he really means what he said. He would do anything for Brady. 

Jimmy and Brady watch a random show on ABC Family while Brady eats, and it’s nice. Sitting next to Brady makes Jimmy feel relaxed. Brady looks like he’s feeling even better after finishing the soup. Brady is underneath the puffy blanket and Jimmy wants more than anything to scootch closer to him and lean against him. _It’s now or never_ , Jimmy thinks to himself, and does exactly that. He moves closer to Brady and leans his head on his shoulder. Jimmy looks up at Brady to see his reaction, and sees Brady smiling down at him.  

“You’ll get sick.” Brady tells him.  

“Eh, I already feel sick anyway.” Jimmy shrugs, referring to how he can feel it through the bond.

“You just want me to take care of you too.” Brady counters. Jimmy laughs, he honestly didn’t think of that. But that would be nice.

 “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind you being my slave for a day.” Jimmy replies, and tries to subtly move even closer to Brady without him noticing. Jimmy loves the feeling of the warmth of Brady’s body up against his own. He could stay here forever.

\-- 

Brady is surprisingly feeling better enough the next day to go to practice and play in the game. Jimmy likes to watch Brady practice when he is taking a break. Brady is such a great skater, and Jimmy admires his work ethic. He always tries his hardest and never seems to have an off day. Brady has made such a big impact on the team not only defensively, but offensively as well. Jimmy feels really proud of him.  

“You’re pining.” Kevin says as he skates over to him to take a sip of his gatorade.  

“No shit, Sherlock.” Jimmy responds. He doesn’t need Kevin to tell him that, Jimmy has known this for a long time.  

“Talk to him. Watching you lust over him every day is getting exhausting.” Kevin tells him. Jimmy is so lucky that they’re the only two players by the bench right now, and AV isn’t looking. 

“Yeah, it’s not that easy.” Jimmy replies. Kevin doesn’t know anything, he doesn’t have a soulmark.

“You’re literally supposed to feel that way, that’s the whole point. And Brady probably does too.” Kevin says, and actually sounds like he is trying to give genuine advice. Jimmy doesn’t have time to respond before AV tells them to do more drills.

\--

The weekend approaches and Jimmy knows that he has to talk to Brady before they go home for Christmas and he doesn’t have much time left. He’s really nervous about it. What if Brady doesn’t want a soulmate and feels like he’s stuck with Jimmy? What if he’s not enough for Brady? Jimmy isn’t sure how well he can handle rejection, especially from his soulmate.

They have practice in the morning on Saturday, and Jimmy tries to get Brady to leave as quick as possible. See, it’s a very important day for Jimmy. It’s the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family, and if Jimmy has to miss a minute of it he might shed a tear. The Harry Potter marathon is the best part of December, not Christmas. When they get back, Jimmy plops onto the couch and turns the TV on right away to see that he has fifteen minutes to spare. Perfect.

“What’s got you so excited? You were basically bouncing in your seat in the car.” Brady asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Harry Potter marathon!” Jimmy exclaims.

“Oh gosh, I’m soulbonded to a nerd.” Brady laughs. He doesn’t say nerd like it’s a bad thing, so Jimmy will let it slide.

“I went to Harvard, what did you expect?” Jimmy asks.

“True. You’re really going to watch this all day?” Brady asks. Jimmy could go into his drawer and get his Gryffindor t-shirt if he really wanted to freak him out, but he’s not going to do that.  

“I’m literally not getting up from this couch for the next twelve hours.” Jimmy responds honestly.

“Alright, I’ll go make the popcorn.” Brady says, and starts to turn towards the kitchen before Jimmy stops him.

“You’re going to watch with me?” Jimmy asks. At college, his teammates thought Jimmy was lame for wanting to watch all of the movies at once. But Jimmy can’t help it, Harry Potter is _so_ good. He has read each book about three times. 

“You’re so excited about it, and it’s really cute.” Brady blushes, and that’s when Jimmy loses it and really just wants to stand up and kiss him. But he stays in control and doesn’t move.

Jimmy knows that this is the perfect opportunity for him to talk to Brady about how he’s been feeling. He can do what Derek said, and maybe Brady will end up saying that he likes him back. Brady said that he’s cute, he has to at least like him a little bit to say that, right? Jimmy takes a deep breath. He’s going to do this. He gives himself a mental pep-talk as Brady makes the popcorn. Brady sits on the couch next to Jimmy when he’s done, and Jimmy pauses it.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Jimmy asks. He can hear the nerves in his voice and is immediately embarrassed.

“Yeah of course, what’s up?” Brady responds, looking genuinely concerned.

“I uh, just wanted to see how you’ve been feeling about this soulmates thing. I know you didn’t know that you were going to have one and that you were nervous about it but I just wanted to make sure that you’re doing alright and that you know that I’m always here and-” Jimmy keeps rambling, but Brady cuts him off with a kiss, and Jimmy has never experienced a kiss that felt this good. He can feel his soulmark tingling, and his heart is pounding and it just feels so _good_. Brady’s lips are warm, and Jimmy can feel himself drowning in the kiss. They finally pull apart, and Jimmy already misses the feeling of Brady’s lips on his.

“Does that tell you how I feel?” Brady asks, raising an eyebrow.

“You let me ramble like that for two minutes, you could have just cut to the chase!” Jimmy laughed.

“Because you’re cute when you ramble, but then I decided that I should put you out of your misery.” Brady grins, and Jimmy wants to wipe that grin off of his face with another kiss.

“So you like me?” Jimmy asks, just to make sure.  

“Yes, I like you, you idiot.” Brady laughs, and Jimmy can’t help but chuckle along with him.

“I just wanted to make sure!” Jimmy exclaims, barely containing his laughter. “I knew you didn’t think you were getting a soulmate, and I was hoping you weren’t mad it was me.” Jimmy admits.

“Are you kidding me, Jimmy? I’m _lucky_ it’s you. I’m lucky I’m soulbonded to a hockey playing nerd that has a degree from Harvard, that makes me soup and takes care of me when I’m sick, and that has a weird obsession with Harry Potter. I’m lucky.” Brady tells him, and Jimmy feels his heart melt right then and there. He’s officially gone for him.

Jimmy ended up sticking to his words, he didn’t get off of the couch for nearly twelve hours. However, he didn’t pay as much attention to the Harry Potter movies as he had planned. Good thing he has DVR.

\--

Ever since they kissed, Jimmy has been able to feel some of Brady’s emotions. He was able to feel Brady’s excitement on top of his own when Brady scored his first NHL goal a few days later. Jimmy was also able to feel how Brady was worried when Jimmy took a hard hit on the ice in a game against the Stars while they’re away. Jimmy decides that he likes knowing how Brady is feeling. He knows when Brady is nervous about a game, and Jimmy can help him out.

They’re leaving for Christmas break in two days and it will be their first time apart. They shouldn’t feel ill or anything since it’s the first time and it will only be for a few days, but Jimmy is still nervous. He has seen Brady every day for the past three months, and he’s scared that he is going to feel alone without him. As cheesy as it is, Brady is his other half, and Jimmy will feel incomplete without him.

Jimmy is in bed with Brady. They haven’t slept in separate beds since the Harry Potter marathon. Jimmy snuggles up close to Brady.

“Do you mind if I tell my family about us? My grandma asks if I’ve met my soulmate at least every other week.”

“I’m not going to let you keep anything from your family, Jimmy.” Brady says, and Jimmy sighs of relief.

“I know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it.” Jimmy says. They’re supposed to work together, which means they both have to be on the same page.

“I appreciate that. I think I’m going to tell my family too.” Brady replies. That’s a big step for Brady, since they don’t even know that he has a soulmark. His family is going to be so surprised.

Instead of using his words, Jimmy leans in to kiss Brady. Every time they kiss feels just as amazing as the first time. Jimmy knows that he will be able to spend the rest of his life with Brady and never get tired of kissing him. He can do this forever.

Brady moves so that he is on top of Jimmy, and Jimmy begins to pull Brady’s shirt off while still kissing him. Jimmy can feel Brady smiling into the kiss before continuing to kiss him with more passion. Yep, Jimmy can do this forever.

\--

Jimmy already feels lonely within an hour of being home. Brady is still on his flight, so Jimmy can’t even text him. This sucks.

“Honey, stop checking your phone.” His mom scolds him. Jimmy keeps checking the time so he can call Brady to see if he landed safely.

“Sorry, Mom.” Jimmy responds.

“Are you waiting for a text from someone?” His mom asks, putting an emphasis on the word someone. He sees where this is going. But he’s only been home for an hour, he thought he had at least a day until his family questioned him.

“He’s actually on a flight right now, I wanted to call him when he landed.” Jimmy tells her, and feels himself blushing. His mom has the biggest smile on her face.

“I’m so happy for you, Jimmy.” His mom exclaims and pulls him in for a hug. Jimmy missed his mom a lot. “Can I meet him soon?”

“It’s Brady. You’ve already met him.” Jimmy grins, suddenly feeling really proud to tell someone how Brady is his.

“I haven’t met him as your soulmate though! He seemed like a very sweet boy, I’m glad it’s him.” She says.

“Yeah, me too.” Jimmy smiles. He’s really glad it’s Brady.

Jimmy tells his family at dinner on Christmas, and they’re all really happy for him.

\--

Being home for the holidays was nice, but Jimmy is very relieved to be back in Manhattan. Being away from Brady for only a few days was exhausting. Jimmy didn’t feel sick, but he felt really drained. By the last day, he didn’t want to get out of bed because he was so tired and fatigued. Jimmy wonders what they will do during the summer? Will they spend the summer together? Maybe they can spend half of the summer in Massachusetts, and the other half in Minnesota. Jimmy would love to show Brady around Boston and maybe even take him to the Cape for a day at the beach.

Right now, Jimmy is cuddling with Brady in bed while watching the Tonight Show. They just got back a few hours ago and they are both tired from traveling, but feel energized from the presence of each other.

“Wanna hear something funny?” Brady asks. “About two weeks ago, I was nervous about telling you that I like you and ended up going to Step for advice.” Brady chuckles softly.

“That bastard!” Jimmy exclaims. He can’t believe Derek fooled him like that. “He gave _me_ advice about how to talk to you before that.”

“No way, are you kidding?” Brady laughs, and clearly is not as mad as Jimmy is. Derek _knew_ that Brady liked him back and let Jimmy freak out for another week and a half before he finally had the balls to talk to Brady about it. So much could have been avoided.

“I mean, I didn’t tell him it was you, but he knew I had a soulmate that’s a guy. It probably wasn’t hard for him to figure it out.” Jimmy shrugs.

“I didn’t tell him it was you either. I just went to him for advice because I knew he has a soulmate.” Brady replies. He looks amused, but Jimmy is still fuming.

“I’m going to kill him." Jimmy mutters under his breath.

\--

Jimmy doesn’t kill him. Only because Brady wouldn’t let him. They catch Derek walking out of practice the next day to confront him.

“I know what you did.” Jimmy states, and Derek smirks in response.

“You’re welcome.” Derek replies, and Jimmy can hear Brady laugh from amusement.

“If you would have just told us, we could have figured things out a lot sooner!” Jimmy exclaims, and he can feel Brady rubbing circles on his back with his thumb. He can also feel Brady sending calming vibes through the bond.

“Hey, it’s not my fault it took you guys weeks to tell each other how you feel.” Derek responds, and Jimmy doesn’t want to admit that he has a point.

“It’s alright, Jimmy. Everything worked out perfectly.” Brady says, and Jimmy realizes that he’s right. Jimmy loves what he has with Brady, and he wouldn’t want it any other way. Jimmy looks around to make sure that everyone else is gone and kisses Brady on the lips.

“Gross.” Derek laughs, but both Jimmy and Brady ignore him.

\--

The rest of the season goes by quick. Jimmy is not used to a season with this many games, and he feels drained. They just got back from a road trip to Minnesota. They not only won, but Brady also scored a goal against his hometown team with his family in the audience. Jimmy could feel how excited Brady was, and it was one of Jimmy’s favorite hockey moments. Jimmy also got to meet Brady’s family, who have taken the soulbond news really well. They seem like really great people.

Right now, Brady is attempting to make a chicken recipe that they found while watching the food network one night after they were too lazy to get up after sex. It’s definitely a weirder choice of TV show for that occasion, but that’s what was on and they both didn’t feel like attempting to look for something else to watch.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Jimmy asks.

“I’m good! Why, you don’t trust me?” Brady replies from the kitchen.

“Have you ever cooked chicken before?” Jimmy asks, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s never too late to start.” Brady responds as he puts the chicken in the oven. “Let me make you a romantic dinner in peace.”

Jimmy waits for dinner to be ready on the couch as he watches one of the Harry Potter movies that he has recorded on DVR. He loves Harry Potter, but he is feeling sleepy because he just got back from a road trip and has practice tomorrow morning, so he is going to sleep whenever he can.

Jimmy’s slumber doesn’t last long, because he wakes up to the sound of the smoke detector. He can immediately feel waves of nervousness, embarrassment, and guilt from Brady. Jimmy doesn’t want Brady to feel like that. Yeah, there’s a lot of smoke in the kitchen and that’s probably not a good thing, but it’s fine. They end up having to evacuate the building. Brady looks sad, but Jimmy can’t help but laugh. This _would_ happen to them. He’s not surprised at all.

Thankfully they live in a small apartment building, because not a lot of other people are outside because they had to evacuate. They sit on the curb and watch the situation get taken care of, and Jimmy can feel how awful Brady is feeling. Jimmy just wants to make Brady feel okay. He doesn’t want Brady to ever feel sad, because he’s such an amazing person and deserves the happiest life, and Jimmy doesn’t even think before he says what he’s about to say.

“I love you.” Jimmy tells him.

Jimmy has never said those three words to anyone except close family, but this feels right. He can see Brady grin softly, and his cheeks are red from both the cold weather and from what Jimmy just told him. Jimmy can feel Brady’s emotions of surprise, but also something that feels like what Jimmy is feeling right now.

“I love you too. I have for a while now.” Brady admits, and Jimmy’s smile is embarrassingly big.

Jimmy would kiss him right now if he could, but they’re outside and they both aren’t ready for anyone to know about their relationship. Jimmy feels warm from the overwhelming amount of emotions that he is feeling from both him and his soulmate, but it feels right. Everything feels right.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> In this universe, I'd like to think that there are some other soulbonded players in the league. Definitely Mitch and Auston, maybe Tyler and Jamie. Just something to think about. :)  
> So yeah, if you liked this, definitely shoot me a comment/kudos!  
> Also I don't usually write, like ever, so sorry if this is a little rough but I tried I promise!


End file.
